To be (a nurse) or not to be (a nurse)....that is the question.

cally527, RN · May 30, 2012

I am not sure of the specifics of your particular situation since you did not include them, but depending on the amount of pre-req classes you would need to take and whether or not you plan to get an ADN or BSN it might still be worth it for you to start back to school now. The job market is not going to be horrible forever! If you need a year of pre-req's and you are applying to a BSN program, that would be 5 years minimum (assuming you get into nursing school your first time applying) before you were in the job market.

LisaNICUrn, BSN · May 30, 2012

Well I know the job market is horrible in my area but nurses are needed by the dozens. If you are worried about not finding a job after school here's my advice. Do you know if you have any choice or can ask which hospital or place you would like to do your clinicals? We were able to request most semesters and they would try and accommodate. A lot of students use their clinicals, especially preceptorship as a job interview. Make sure you are known by the charge nurse, other nurses on the unit, anyone of any importance, and talk to them about job opportunities. Also, a lot of students started interning after Adults 1 or 2, or even start out as techs at a particular hospital then just switch over to RN after they pass boards. Find out from nurses where you are precepting, especially newer nurses what is the best way, who to talk to, how to get your foot in the door. A friend of mine has been hounding the HR department at one of our local hospitals ever few weeks, just waiting for an opening she was qualified for (keep in mind we don't graduate till Aug). Doing that keeps your name on their mind, lets them know you are motivated, and she just started working last week. Don't feel discouraged, I think going in to nursing gives you the best chance of landing a job after spending all your money and time. Good luck

maddiem · May 30, 2012

My advice to you is to get your BSN and not just your RN from a community college. If you just get your RN from a community college, you will have a very hard time finding a job because most hospitals now have a minimum requirement of a BSN for all their nurses. The time you spend getting your BSN will pay off big time.

Finding a job also depends on where you live...It would be to your advantage to live in an area like the city or the suburbs. There will be a lot more jobs out there.

IndyElmer · May 30, 2012

I wouldn't choose nursing based on flexible hours or great job market (which you have observed, it currently is not). My time working as a CNA in a long-term care facility and volunteering in the ED and on a telemetry floor have shown me that nursing is very different from what most people think it will be like. For a variety of reasons,iIt's harder (and potentially less rewarding) than most people imagine. (This isn't to say that it's not rewarding, it can be, but the balance between reward/satisfaction vs. stressors may not be quite what you're imagining.)

It seems like I keep hearing about people who turned a non-patient care job into an interview for a new grad position at the same facility, so I would think you might really benefit from findingfor a part-time (or full-time if that's your preference) job at a nearby hospital. It would give you an opportunity to observe the struggles (and joys) of nursing as well as giving you a good start to a network that might make you more employable after graduation.

And as others have said, sometimes the pre-reqs are much more credits/time than many first think they are going to need. Even for "12-month" 2nd degree BSN programs, there are often 16-32 credits worth of pre-reqs that those who already have a BSN still need to take before they can even apply to start the 12 month part. I've also seen ADN programs that have a year's worth of pre-reqs (or more -- and that's assuming that you'd go full-time), prior to starting an 18- or 24-month program. It may be worthwhile to look into what various programs in your area are going to require. Even if you set a goal of being a nurse in 5 years, you may need to get started on pre-reqs now if you want to only do them part-time.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · May 30, 2012

My advice to you is to get your BSN and not just your RN from a community college. If you just get your RN from a community college, you will have a very hard time finding a job because most hospitals now have a minimum requirement of a BSN for all their nurses. The time you spend getting your BSN will pay off big time.
Finding a job also depends on where you live...It would be to your advantage to live in an area like the city or the suburbs. There will be a lot more jobs out there.

Actually this isn't true at all. While it IS true that some areas of the country, some cities do have preferences for BSN over ADN, some other areas don't care what the degree is at all as long as there's "RN" after your name. BSN gives you more flexibility and more desirability, to be sure, but there's plenty of ADN's finding work (when there's work to be found).

As for the point of the original post, no one can say what the job market will be in five or six or seven years, exactly. The downward trend in terms of staffing for healthcare facilities in these lower economic times isn't going to reverse itself soon, or quickly, but that doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile to get the degree. Just be aware that you might NOT find work quickly, or it might be in an area or nursing you don't particularly want to join. You might find the job but not the hours you like. More and more I hear about "can't find a job" and when looking closer, it's "can't find a job that's the shift I want in the facility I want in the unit I want". Big difference.

Best of luck to you.